Seven Dreams (19 page)

Even as he formed
this thought, the voice box he carried in his pocket buzzed
violently, and he jumped. He always had the thing on him at the
moment, but this was the first time it had done
anything.

He scrambled to
retrieve it and switched it to transmit, then announced his
name.

‘
You’re up,’ said Oliver’s voice, and the box went
dark.

Teyo stuffed it
back in his pocket, grabbing for his coat with his other hand. He
charged down to the bulletin boards at a run, and ruthlessly shoved
his way through the crowds of people already gathered around
them.

He swore a little
under his breath when he saw the headlines. SECOND DREAM FOUND,
proclaimed the board. Teyo watched in silence as pictures of the
site scrolled past. This one was under water, apparently, and
constructed entirely from eerily pale crystal. It looked cold and
ethereal and strange, and he shivered involuntarily.

After the images
of the site came a short article describing the circumstances of
the discovery. It was situated at the bottom of an isolated, very
deep river which wound through the highlands of Orstwych. The
article noted that eight people had drowned while exploring the
river and a ninth had died trying to access the site, which made
him blink. No one had any idea what the keys were for or where the
supposed door might lead, yet they were taking life-threatening
risks over it? He felt simultaneously saddened and befuddled, and
slowly shook his head.

And then, froze.
The LHB were on site, he read, and had already secured what they
considered might be the
key
the riddle spoke of. The next
image confirmed that: a woman held a black stone streaked with
violet. It bore the same shape as the others, and the same
inscription, though it had not yet been translated.

He did not have
time to feel relieved that it had fallen to the LHB, however,
because the woman depicted was Halavere Morann. An LHB official she
surely was, but what else was she? Teyo had no doubt at all that
the key was destined to end up, one way or another, in the hands of
the Yllandu — and Ylona Duna.

He returned to
the apartment at a run.

Egg still sat
with her enormous boots propped up on the table. She was
nonchalantly eating some kind of nuts out of a tiny paper bag.
There was no sign of Iyamar.

‘
Everything all right?’ she said, eyeing his hastily-donned
coat and his air of urgency with interest.

‘
Maybe,’ he returned. ‘We’ve got about six hours to get the
next key off Halavere Morann before it’s absorbed by the
Unspeakables.’

Egg stared at
him. ‘Right,’ she said at last, and took her feet off the table.
‘Okay then.’ She swallowed the contents of her snack bag in one
mouthful and chucked the paper aside. ‘Where’d Iyamar
go?’

Teyo blinked. ‘I
don’t know. Isn’t she here?’

‘
She
left, right after you.’

‘
As
in, left the building?’

‘
Yeah.’

Teyo felt a
headache coming on.

But the door
slammed an instant later, and Iyamar came whirling in. She held in
her hand a paper bag like Egg’s. Actually, she held three. She
tossed one to Egg, who caught it with an air of surprise, and
offered the second to Teyo. Peace offerings?

‘
Where
have you—’ began Teyo, but then shook his head. ‘Never mind. Thank
you. Are you ready to head out? Job’s starting.’

Iyamar flashed
him a smile of such dazzling brilliance she could only have learned
it from Serena — or, perhaps, Lady Fenella. ‘Yes, please. Can we go
right away?’

Egg was already
on her feet and heading for the door. ‘I’ll pack,’ she called back
over her shoulder. The animosity that had choked the room half an
hour before had dissipated completely, and Teyo heaved an inward
sigh of relief. Perhaps all any of them really needed was something
difficult and potentially life-threatening to do.

‘
Leaving in thirty minutes,’ he told Iyamar, and she
saluted.

‘
Right
you are, boss!’

The downside to
the job, Teyo reflected en route, was that they would be obliged to
access the LHB office in Iving. That the key was there, he did not
much doubt. Halavere Morann had been pictured standing outside the
building with the key in her hand, and it was an obvious repository
for it for the time being. He suspected that a break-in was likely
to be staged by the Unspeakables that night, after which Halavere —
unaware that her connections with the underworld were known to her
superiors — would deny all knowledge, and declare the key sadly
lost. They’d have to get their hands on the key before
then.

Fortunately, Lady
Glostrum had anticipated problems of this nature. She herself
expected to be out of reach for the next while, but she had given
him the name and contact details for a trusted subordinate in the
Bureau. Teyo took out his voice-box. It was the work of a few
moments to adjust its designated contact, and then he depressed the
authorisation tab. The box buzzed promisingly.

The response came
quickly. ‘Devary Kant,’ announced a male voice.

‘
Teyo
Bambre,’ Teyo replied. ‘I’m—’

‘
I
know,’ Devary cut in. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘
I
need access to the Iving HQ.’ Teyo rapidly explained. He was
prepared for opposition, but Kant merely said, ‘Right,’ in a
reassuringly crisp tone. ‘I’ll set you up with access to the
necessary stuff,’ continued Devary, ‘but I can’t make it easy for
you. Halavere’s got allies at the HQ but we aren’t sure who they
are yet, and she knows we haven’t taken on any new recruits lately.
It would be better if you weren’t seen.’

Teyo understood
the unspoken subtext well enough. Kant could get him through the
weird Lokant security, but they’d have to sneak in and out. Ah
well. They were well practiced at that.

The building
wasn’t especially large nor, he estimated, all that difficult to
get into. He’d been there once before, and remembered it as an
unprepossessing stone construction, a former townhouse pressed into
duty as an office. Its doors and windows were standard, and
external security wasn’t all that high; it wasn’t a safehouse or
(usually) a repository for anything valuable.

He, Egg and Iya
would have to get the job done quickly. The hour was already
advanced. He estimated they had about two hours of natural daylight
left before the Day Cloak came in, and it wouldn’t be long after
that before they could expect a visit from the
Unspeakables.

In spite of
Devary’s words, they dressed and wigged as LHB agents. If anyone
did
see them, he hoped their costumes would prove passable
enough to fool anyone who wasn’t looking too closely. Their attire
lacked Serena’s or Fabian’s special skills and eye for detail, and
they had no badge for Iyamar, who looked awfully young to be an
officer of the LHB, besides. Perhaps she might pass for a trainee?
The lack of finesse was regrettable, but they hadn’t the time for
an elaborate masquerade.

The nearest
railcar station was a few minutes’ walk from the LHB HQ. Unable to
shake his feeling of urgency, Teyo pushed the pace, leading Egg and
Iya at a half-trot. They slowed to a more relaxed walk once the
building came within sight, and Teyo took a few moments to examine
it closely.

It was a plain,
unprepossessing structure of drab grey brick. It had originally
contained two semi-detached houses, he guessed, though it had
probably been combined into one when the LHB took it over. A quick
survey revealed at least five possible ways of getting in; that
wouldn’t be the problem.

No problem at
all, in fact. Office hours were just about over. As Teyo watched,
an LHB officer in a long coat came out of the front door and
stepped briskly down the short path to the street, setting a neat
black hat upon his head as he went. He didn’t lock the
door.

Promising, but
Teyo didn’t dare dash heedlessly across the road and shove his way
inside. What if there were other agents on their way home for the
day? But if there was a front door left unsecured, Teyo reflected,
there was probably a back door as well. Or a side door.
Something.

They circled
around again and came at the building from the rear. The back door
was swiftly eliminated, as a kitchen lay directly beyond, within
which a pair of agents stood lingering over some kind of beverage.
It came down at last to a tiny side-door which was, typically,
locked fast.

‘
Allow
me,’ said Egg with a smug little smile, and bent to the job, picks
in hand. Teyo looked at his watch.

‘
Twenty-two seconds,’ he reported when the lock gave that
promising
click.
‘Not your best.’

Egg merely
grinned at him. She opened the door barely an inch and peeked into
the gap. ‘All clear,’ she whispered, and they slipped
inside.

They room beyond
appeared to be a storage room, as it was piled high with crates and
boxes. They were lucky there was a route to the side door at all,
Teyo thought, until he saw a large sign proclaiming the presence of
a fire exit. Ah, safety considerations could be so convenient
sometimes.

It was perfect
for the next part of his plan, Teyo reflected with satisfaction.
Egg sat cross-legged atop a stack of crates out of sight of the
doors, while Teyo drew Iya aside.

‘
Are
you sure you’re all right with this?’ he whispered.

Iyamar’s eyes
held a scared child look that gave him grave doubts, but she lifted
her chin and nodded. ‘I can do it.’

‘
Sure,
now? No shame in letting it go. Better not to risk it, if you
aren’t certain.’

Iyamar developed
a grim look which told him she would do it or die, and she nodded.
‘I can do it. It’s been better since Lady Glostrum.’

He nodded.
‘Right. You first, then.’

Iya took a deep
breath and closed her eyes. For a while nothing happened, though
Teyo could see her hands beginning to shake with effort. Then her
human form vanished all in a rush, and seconds later a tiny
Jisp-like creature sat on the ground. She’d matched her colouring
to the floor, he noticed with approval, and she’d done an excellent
job of it too. He felt a brief flash of pride; she was a fast
learner, and for someone who’d howled with agony at the prospect of
shapeshifting only a week or so ago, she was doing well.

Good,
he
told her the silent way, and felt a glow of satisfaction from her
in reply. He took Jisp out of his pocket and set her down next to
Iyamar, then shifted his own form. Iya’s and Jisp’s miniscule
bodies swelled in his vision as his own stature shrank, and then
three little Jisps crouched together upon the floor.

They didn’t pause
to confer, but ran immediately for the door. They were small enough
to slip easily underneath, and within moments they were scurrying
furiously away, spreading out over the three floors of the LHB
building. Teyo had arranged that Iya would cover the ground floor,
because he felt it would contain the fewest threats. It was
dedicated mostly to kitchens, dining areas and storage; few agents
would be in evidence, and he doubted the key was down
here.

He and Jisp ran
for the stairs and dashed up them. It was always disconcerting to
find his legs suddenly so short, Teyo mused as he laboured to reach
each step. It was fortunate that his tiny body was nimble enough to
make up for it — most of the time.

Jisp darted away
at the top of the first flight, and Teyo continued up to the top
floor. He slowed to a more cautious pace, alert for any signs of
activity. His sensitive nose caught a whiff of something human
behind the second door he passed, and he gave it a wide berth. Most
of the rooms were empty, fortunately, and he scrambled beneath each
door to check the contents inside. Office, office, a filing room,
another office, a water closet... nothing interesting on this side.
Turning about, he dashed furiously back to the staircase and away
to the other side, keeping his senses alert for any communications
from Jisp or Iya as he ran.

He found the
treasure room, as he liked to think of it, a few moments later. He
knew it by the box of strangeness that was attached to the door, a
white light blinking upon its surface. It was a stupid security
system to employ, when every other door around here used a normal
lock and key. One might as well hang a sign on the door saying,
Here is all the good stuff!

On the other
hand, he was pretty sure that was top-level Lokant technology
guarding the portal to the goodies, so perhaps it wasn’t so
stupid.

He dismissed Jisp
and Iya back to Egg, and — steeling himself in case something weird
and painful should occur — made a mad dash under the
door.

The room was
empty, as his nose had already informed him. Tall cabinets soared
away to impossible heights on either side of him, lining the walls
like rows of stern sentries. Each one of those bore a similar lock
on each and every drawer, which was both promising and devastating
at the same time. He hoped Kant had got him access to these, or he
was going to have a problem.